begin quote from:
| CNN | - |
Washington
(CNN) Donald Trump ruled out Thursday a pathway to legal status for
undocumented immigrants in the United States, walking back comments he
made earlier this week in which he appeared open to the idea.
Trump: No legal status for undocumented immigrants
Story highlights
- "There's no path to legalization unless they leave the country," Trump said
- But he declined to clarify whether he would forcibly deport all of the undocumented immigrants in the US
Washington (CNN)Donald
Trump ruled out Thursday a pathway to legal status for undocumented
immigrants in the United States, walking back comments he made earlier
this week in which he appeared open to the idea.
But
the Republican nominee declined in an interview with CNN's Anderson
Cooper to clarify whether he would still forcibly deport the estimated
11 million undocumented immigrants in the US -- a major tenet of his
immigration platform -- after he suggested this week he was "softening"
on the idea.
"There's
no path to legalization unless they leave the country," Trump said
after an event in Manchester, New Hampshire. "When they come back in,
then they can start paying taxes, but there is no path to legalization
unless they leave the country and then come back."
Trump
said that on his first day in office, he would authorize law
enforcement to actively deport "bad dudes," such as those who have
committed crimes, which he said numbered "probably millions." But he
declined to flatly say whether he would round up other undocumented
immigrants, stressing that once the initial deportations occur, "then we
can talk."
"There is a very good
chance the answer could be yes," Trump said when asked if he would
deport those who have lived here peacefully but without papers. "We're
going to see what happens."
Trump's
comments are the latest turn in a now-daily recalibration of his
position on immigration, which Trump said he would crystallize in a
speech next week. During the primary, Trump advocated unequivocally for
deporting undocumented immigrants, and the shifts he has hinted at would
be a highly-scrutinized flip on a trademark issue.
Trump
had said earlier this week that he would be open to a "softening" on
immigration, and made a series of comments that indicated a path to
legalization was likely as long as they paid taxes accumulated from
their time living here illegally. Yet Trump now seems to be reverting to
his original plan -- one derided as a "touchback" policy in which those
without proper papers must return home before re-entering the country.
Yet it was now unclear to what length Trump would go to execute those deportations.
"It's
a process. You can't take 11 at one time and just say 'boom, you're
gone,'" he told Cooper, floating the idea that as many as 30 million
people could be living here illegally, a projection well beyond most
analysts' figures. "I don't think it's a softening. I've had people say
it's a hardening, actually."
On Wednesday, Trump suggested
he would allow exceptions to let some undocumented immigrants to stay
in the US, vowing he wouldn't grant them citizenship but telling Fox
News, "there's no amnesty, but we work with them."
Trump
continued: "No citizenship. Let me go a step further -- they'll pay
back-taxes, they have to pay taxes, there's no amnesty, as such, there's
no amnesty, but we work with them," Trump told Sean Hannity when asked
if he would allow for exceptions to his long-held position.
At
the same event with Hannity, Trump, who over the weekend met with
Hispanic advisers, said about his immigration policies: "There could
certainly be a softening because we're not looking to hurt people."
Clinton's campaign called Trump's plan "dangerous" in a statement Thursday night.
"He
may try to disguise his plans by throwing in words like "humane" or "
fair," but the reality remains that Trump's agenda echoes the extreme
right's will -- one that is fueling a dangerous movement of hatred
across the country," Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said.
Calls Clinton a 'bigot'
Trump
also defended calling Clinton a "bigot," arguing that her policies are a
personal reflection because she knows they are destined to fail
minority communities.
Trump and
Clinton are each portraying the other as discriminatory toward
African-Americans, with Trump charging on Wednesday evening that the
candidate herself was hateful. Pushed by Cooper if Trump meant to make a
personal argument about Clinton as opposed to a policy argument, Trump
doubled down.
"She is a bigot," he
said. "She is selling them down the tubes because she's not doing
anything for those communities. She talks a good game. But she doesn't
do anything."
Asked if he believed
Clinton personally hated black people, Trump claimed: "Her policies are
bigoted because she knows they're not going to work."
Says he's not familiar with the 'alt-right'
As Clinton tarred him
with representing the "alt-right" at a speech in Reno, Nevada, Trump
offered his own pushbacks, saying he was not acquainted with the fringe
world that Clinton said had essentially merged with his campaign.
"There's no 'alt-right' or 'alt-left.' All I'm embracing is common sense," Trump said. "We're bringing love."
Asked
about his controversial new campaign chief, Steve Bannon, who had
praised the movement when at Breitbart News, Trump drew some distance:
"I don't know what Steve said. All I can tell you: I can only speak for
myself."
Plans to visit several African-American churches
And
as Trump makes his most overt pitch to African-Americans, Trump said he
himself plans to visit several black churches in the next two weeks,
including one trip to Detroit.
"I can fix the inner cities," Trump said. "(Clinton) can't."
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